ISTANBUL 

The Kazakh president said on Thursday that he believes China will make a “positive contribution” to international security, as he hosted Beijing’s defense chief in the capital Astana.

“We highly appreciate and support China's proposed initiatives for global development, global security, and global civilization.

"I believe that they will make a positive contribution to strengthening the modern architecture of international security,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was quoted as saying in a presidency statement during a meeting with Dong Jun.

Tokayev further said Kazakhstan and China are maintaining constructive dialogue in multiple international platforms, including the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

The statement also said Tokayev underlined Dong’s contributions to cooperation between Astana and Beijing, adding that he also stressed the state of bilateral ties which he defined to be “an eternal comprehensive strategic partnership.”

“According to the head of our state, on the multilateral track, Kazakhstan and China have similar views on the main issues of regional and international security,” the statement said.

For his part, Dong thanked Tokayev for his hospitality and noted the “high level of preparation for the meeting of defense ministers of the SCO member states,” which is also scheduled to be held in Astana on the same day.

“During the meeting, the parties noted their interest in developing peacekeeping, educational, and military-technical cooperation,” the statement concluded.​​​​​​​